Resistance in Organisational Change

Purpose: This paper investigates the contributing factors that lead to resistance to change, and ascertains the relationship between organizational culture and employee resistance in organizational change programmes, such as Lean. Design/methodology/approach: This methodology for this research is in three main parts. Firstly, a systematic review of the literature pertaining to resistance to change followed by a case study, involving an anonymous survey and semi-structured interviews to test the assumptions drawn from the literature. Finally the literature research and case study results are drawn together to present a new model of resistance. Findings: The finding of the literature, along with the finding of the case study confirm that a lack of communication and participant involvement during change are highlighted as significant contributing factors to resistance and that these are related to organizational culture. Research limitations/implications: Whilst the secondary sources of information provide a significant weight of evidence to support the results from the case study, the results of the research are based on a single case study; therefore caution should be applied before making generalizations from the data. Practical implications: The findings can provide organizations, and change practitioners, with an insight into a number of the issues that should be considered in relation to an organizations culture before attempting large-scale change programmes. Originality/value: The research findings provide a new model, the ‘Resistance Model’ that identifies the interconnected issues that affect employees’ attitude to, and therefore acceptance of, organizational change. Keywords: Organisational change, Change, Resistance to Change, Lean, Resistance Model